In the quiet room, Zhang Nian sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, with the heaven-defying cultivation technique, the Flame Mantra, laid out before him.
"Low Yellow Tier it is, then. I refuse to believe my Nanming Li Fire can't push you to a higher tier!"
He shifted his numb, aching legs slightly, then crossed them again and began cultivating.
He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and closed his eyes. His consciousness gradually sank into his body, where he inspected his Qi Cyclone through his inner vision. In his lower abdomen, at his dantian, a palm-sized, milky-white Qi Cyclone revolved slowly. Beside it burned the Nanming Li Fire, radiating a sacred aura.
Watching the Qi Cyclone, Zhang Nian nodded in satisfaction. All he had to do now was practice the Flame Mantra, guide the mark of the Nanming Li Fire into the technique so it could evolve, and then convert all the Dou Qi in his body into the technique's Dou Qi. Tonight would be a sleepless one. He hadn't chosen to convert his Dou Qi first because a Low Yellow Tier technique would convert it slowly, and its Dou Qi was impure. It was like putting diesel in a sports car that ran on 98-octane gasoline. How could it possibly run?
As he refined it over and over, the milky-white Qi Cyclone in his body began to change. This was common knowledge on the Dou Qi Continent: once people broke through to Dou Zhe, they became eligible to cultivate a technique. After they began cultivating one, the attribute-less, milky-white Dou Qi in their bodies would transform into the technique's elemental Dou Qi.
The first conversion didn't take long—or rather, Zhang Nian had only converted the Dou Qi in the condensed Dou Qi Vortex. The Dou Qi in the rest of his meridians remained untouched. Even so, for a Low Yellow Tier technique, the process took two hours. This only strengthened his resolve to evolve the technique first.
"Phew..."
"I've finally completed the initial conversion. My strength is stable at One-Star Dou Zhe for now. Next, I just need to control the Nanming Li Fire, draw out its flame seed, and circulate it through the Flame Mantra to complete its evolution!"
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. There was little time left of the system's 24-hour window, so he had to hurry. If he really didn't make it in time and the reward dissipated, so be it. He would just have to urge Medusa and the others to work harder.
He closed his eyes again and focused. With a thought, the Nanming Li Fire in his dantian obediently dispersed its milky-white flames, leaving only the flame seed at its core. Only then did Zhang Nian see that the seed was colorless. Its form was remarkably similar to the Fallen Heart Flame.
The flame was gentle, perhaps because it had been returned by the system. As Zhang Nian controlled the seed, it showed no resistance at all, like a well-behaved child following an adult's guidance.
As the Nanming Li Fire was guided along the Flame Mantra's circulation route, it seemed to sense something, but remained obedient. After a few cycles, it grew increasingly accustomed to the route and began circulating on its own, without Zhang Nian having to guide it.
Zhang Nian was dumbfounded. If some future Flame Emperor had witnessed this scene, he would probably have trembled with rage. Back when he swallowed flames, he'd ended up covered in blood every single time.
As the flame washed through him again and again, the Dou Qi in the Qi Cyclone changed from pale yellow to milky white. When the milky-white Dou Qi, as hot as molten rock, emerged from his final meridian, the sky around Misty Cloud Mountain changed dramatically.
Dark clouds rolled in from every direction, as if they had sensed something calling them. Suddenly, fierce winds howled across the land. Yet this strange phenomenon appeared only within twenty li of Misty Cloud Mountain.
Jia Xingtian sensed something amiss in Jia Ma Imperial City and flew into the sky again to investigate. When he witnessed the spectacle with his own eyes, he stood there dumbfounded. After a moment, he muttered, "Saint... You cause a stir every single day. How are us ordinary people supposed to take it?"
Yun Shan, who was escorting Yun Yun back, also sensed the unusual energy behind him. He abruptly stopped and turned around. Dark clouds blanketed the direction of Misty Cloud Mountain, and the mountain stood at their very center.
"It seems the Saint has returned—and brought a great opportunity with him. Yun Yun, this is a celestial phenomenon..." Yun Shan said bitterly. Cultivators both longed for and feared such a sight. They longed for the day when they, too, might make the heavens produce such a phenomenon for them. But they feared such immense power, and wondered how any human could possibly resist it.
"Generally speaking, celestial phenomena arise under one of three circumstances. First, a high-tier pill appears, drawing down pill lightning. Second, one occurs when someone reaches a certain cultivation realm. This is rare, because those who can reach that level are as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns across the entire Dou Qi Continent. As for the third, it's when a Heaven Tier technique or Dou Technique comes into being. 'Coming into being' doesn't mean an existing technique is rediscovered; it means something is created from nothing. For example... invention..." Yun Shan paused, then continued:
"But Saint Qinglian is already a Dou Sheng, so he probably won't make any further breakthroughs. That rules out the second possibility. If he's created a Heaven Tier Dou Technique or refined a high-grade pill... If Saint Qinglian is also an alchemist, then this is truly an immense opportunity. Someone like him must stand at the pinnacle of the continent. Yun Yun, if you can become his disciple, it will be the greatest fortune of your life!"
Yun Shan's voice grew increasingly excited, as if he had started this whole endeavor solely to give Yun Yun a brighter future. She could only manage a bitter smile. Her talent might have been excellent in the Misty Cloud Sect, but in the eyes of a Saint, she was probably a joke.
Boom! A thunderous crash shook the heavens and earth. A milky-white pillar of energy shot skyward, piercing the clouds. At its summit stood a figure, steady on his feet, riding the air.
Zhang Nian hadn't expected the Nanming Li Fire to evolve the Flame Mantra straight to High Heaven Tier. He even sensed faintly that High Heaven Tier wasn't the technique's limit—that there was still room beyond it!
At that moment, the power of a High Heaven Tier technique was revealed to its fullest. Its benefits weren't limited to the speed at which Dou Qi circulated. Energy absorption, refinement, storage, and every other step had undergone a complete transformation compared with before.
In just a few breaths, all the Dou Qi in his body was converted.
His cultivation surged in a short time, yet the increase placed no strain on his body. The power of the Heavenly Derivation Saint Physique was on full display, and his cultivation steadily reached One-Star Dou Zong.
Sacred flames burst from Zhang Nian's body. In the blink of an eye, the entire sky was filled with milky white. The scorching heat even raised the temperature across Jia Ma Imperial Capital. Heat shimmered up from the ground, and the surging flames seemed to purify everything.
"Good heavens... Saint Qinglian is truly terrifying! Could that flame be the legendary Heavenly Flame?" In the distance, Yun Shan gazed at the white flames filling the sky, his reverence for the Saint greater than ever. Only a powerhouse like him could be considered one of the continent's strongest...
Jia Ma Imperial City
The hemp-robed Jia Lao immediately called out to the ruler of the empire. "Get Yao Ye back at once! No matter what, we have to find a way. If we can earn the Saint's favor and have him take Yao Ye as his disciple, the Jia Ma Imperial Family will endure forever!"
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